Centrifugal cleaning of paint brushes and the like



Sept. 16, 1969 ,Mac z1 ET AL 3,467,400

CENTRIFUGAL CLEANING OF PAINT BRUSHES AND THE LIKE 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 2, 1967 p 1969 I A. K. M KENZIE ET AL 3,467,400

3 Sheets-Sheet 2 S p 16, 1969 A. K. M KENZIE ET AL ,467,400

CENTRIFUGAL CLEANING OF PAINT BRUSHES AND THE LIKE Filed March 2, 1967 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 United States Patent US. Cl. 279-1 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An attachment securable to an electric motor for cleaning paint brushes and the like includes a first pair of fingers for holding the bristle carrying portion of a brush, and a second pair of fingers shorter than the first for holding the handle of the brush. A clamp encircles the fingers and is movable therealong to clamp the fingers against the brush.

This invention relates to a device for gripping an object to be rotated by an electric motor or the like to which the attachment is secured and more particularly to an appliance for centrifugal cleaning of paint brushes or the like.

It has long been known that centrifugal force acting on a paint brush which has been dipped in solvent causes the solvent and paint dissolved by the solvent to be thrown radially outwardly.

Known devices suffer from several disadvantages including ineffective gripping of the brush or roller, high cost of manufacture and poor adaptability for use with varying sizes and shapes of brushes or rollers.

Accordingly the present invention provides an attachment for a portable electric motor having an armature shaft and coupling means on the shaft, the attachment comprising at least two pairs of resilient depending fingers rotatable with the shaft and means coupled to the fingers and movable therealong to selected positions so as to cause the fingers to engage an object to be rotated by the motor.

In the accompanying drawings which illustrates an embodiment of the present invention:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the appliance of this invention.

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of the attachment in accordance with this invention in use.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the appliance in use with a paint roller cover.

Referring now in detail to the drawings an appliance for centrifugal cleaning of paint brushes is shown generally at in FIG. 1. The appliance 10 includes a metal stub shaft 12 receivable in a conventional coupling 14 on the armature shaft of an electric motor 15 shown in FIG. 2.

The appliance 10 other than the shaft 12 is preferably moulded of suitable plastic material examples of which will be given hereinafter.

The shaft 12 is secured to a body portion 16 which has two pairs of depending fingers 17, 18, 19 and 20 secured thereto. The fingers 17, 18, 19 and 20 are also secured to each other adjacent their connection to the shaft 12 thus forming a substantially rectangular box-like portion 22 from which the shaft 12 extends. The body 16 is moulded in one piece and the shaft 12 is conveniently secured thereto during the moulding process in the well 3,467,400 Patented Sept. 16, 1969 known manner. The body 16 is secured to the shaft 12 for rotation therewith.

The two pairs of fingers 17, 18, 19 and 20 are arranged about the longitudinal axis of the shaft 12 and flare outwardly at their free lower ends 25, 26, 27 and 28 respectively.

The fingers -1'7 and 18 are approximately half the length of the fingers 1'9 and 20 and each has an inwardly bent portion 30 provided with cooperating toothed recesses 31 to receive a handle 32 of a paint brush 29. The outer surfaceof the fingers 17 and 18 are provided with longitudinal ribs 33 having a series of projections 35 therealong, a larger projection 36 is provided adjacent the upper end of each rib at the end of the row of projections 35.

The longer fingers 19 and 20 curve inwardly at their free ends 27 and 28 so that their end edges 38 and 39 respectively are substantially parallel to each other and the major surfaces of the fingers.

The body portion is preferably moulded of a thermo plastic acetal resin containing the recurring group --(OCH sold under the trademark Delrin. This material has been found to provide the desired degree of resiliency for the fingers 17, 18, 19 and 20. A ring 45 encircles the fingers 17, 18, 19 and 20 and is provided with internal thread 47 to cooperate with the projections 35 on the fingers 17 and 18. The larger projection 36 limits movement of the ring 45 in one direction.

The ring 45 is preferably moulded of nylon, polypropylene, high density polyethylene or other suitable synthetic plastic material.

In operation the ring 45 having been moved to allow sufficient spreading movement of the fingers 17, 18, 19 and 20, the handle 32 of the paint brush 29 is inserted therein as illustrated in FIG. 2. The ring 45 is then moved toward the free ends of the fingers until the paint brush is tightly secured in the attachment 10. The upper portion of the handle 32 is thus gripped in the recesses 31 and the flat portion of the paint brush is engaged by the end edges 38 and 39 of the fingers 19 and 20.

The attachment 10 and the paint brush 29 secured therein is then rotated through the use of the electric motor 15 and solvent and dissolved paint on the bristles of the brush are removed by centrifugal force. The attachment is of course placed in a suitable open-ended container during operation of the motor so as to confine the solvent and paint which is being removed from the brush.

The attachment 10 is also useful for cleaning paint roller covers 50 such as is illustrated in broken lines in FIG. 3. The resiliency of the fingers 17, 18, 19 and 20 is sufficient to frictionally hold the roller cover thereon during the spinning operation.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. An attachment securable to an electric motor for use in cleaning brushes having a bristle-carrying portion and a handle extending rearwardly therefrom, said attachment including a first pair of spaced fingers having free ends adapted to receive the bristle carrying portion of a brush therebetween, a second pair of spaced fingers shorter than the fingers of said first pair, each finger of said second pair being located between said first pair of fingers, said second pair of fingers having free ends adapted to receive the handle of said brush therebetween, means encircling said fingers and movable therealong to clamp said fingers against the brush, and means for securing the attachment to an electric motor to enable the attachment to be rotated about an axis substantially parallel to the length of the fingers.

2. An attachment according to claim 1 wherein said means encircling said fingers is an internally threaded ring, and at least one pair of fingers have outer surfaces with screw-thread portions therein, said ring being threadingly engageable with said screw-thread portions whereby rotation of the ring relative to the fingers clamps said fingers against the brush.

3. An attachment according to claim 2 wherein said screw-thread portions are formed on the outer surfaces of said second pair of fingers.

4. An attachment according to claim 1 wherein both pairs of fingers and said securing means are an integral structure of thermoplastic acetal resin containing the recurring group (OCH 4 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS ROBERT C. RIORDON, Primary Examiner 10 DAVID R. MET'ION, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 3458 

